Kristi Noem just proved she’s the toughest border enforcer in the Trump administration.
The Homeland Security Secretary isn’t slowing down after her spectacular success with "Alligator Alcatraz."
And Kristi Noem chose one prison for her Alligator Alcatraz sequel that has Democrats absolutely losing their minds.
Noem brilliantly picks America’s toughest prison for maximum deterrence
Secretary Noem continues to show why she’s exactly the right person to lead Trump’s mass deportation effort.
Fresh off her triumph with the Florida detention center that has migrants begging to self-deport, Noem is already executing the next phase of her winning strategy.
According to sources, Noem is moving fast to open a new ICE migrant detention facility at Angola State Penitentiary – America’s largest maximum-security prison and home to the nation’s last prison rodeo.¹
The choice is nothing short of brilliant.
Angola prison sits on 18,000 acres of Louisiana wilderness, surrounded by water on three sides and located just two miles from the Mississippi border – making escape nearly impossible.
Governor Jeff Landry, who held the Bible during Noem’s swearing-in ceremony, immediately declared a state of emergency at Angola to fast-track construction of 400 new beds.
The emergency order cuts through bureaucratic red tape and allows for expedited repairs through August 23.
The perfect location sends exactly the right message
Noem understands what weak-kneed politicians refuse to grasp – effective deterrence requires consequences that illegal border crossers actually fear.
Angola prison doesn’t coddle criminals.
Most inmates serve life sentences under Louisiana’s tough laws that ended parole and cut early release programs.
The facility even hosts "The Wildest Show in the South!" – a prison rodeo where inmates compete in events like bull riding and "convict poker" where prisoners play cards while a wild bull charges their table.²
The rodeo draws approximately 70,000 spectators to the prison during April and throughout October.
Sources say Noem and Landry are planning a major announcement in September – potentially during Landry’s popular alligator hunt and political fundraiser.³
The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with rodeo season starting in October.
Democrats have predictable meltdown over tough enforcement
As expected, Democrat politicians immediately started whining about Noem’s strategic choice.
One Louisiana Democrat told reporters they’re "deeply concerned about the potential for migrants to be taking part in the Angola rodeo" and compared it to "a Squid Games plot."
This is exactly the kind of pearl-clutching nonsense Americans are sick of hearing from Democrats who created the border crisis in the first place.
These are the same politicians who had no problem with catch-and-release policies that dumped dangerous criminals into American communities.
Now they’re suddenly concerned about "humane conditions" for people who broke into our country illegally?
The hypocrisy is staggering.
Noem’s proven formula delivers results where others failed
The Angola facility follows the same winning playbook Noem used for "Alligator Alcatraz" in Florida’s Everglades.
That facility transformed an airport into a 3,000-capacity detention center in just days using emergency declarations to cut through government bureaucracy.
While Democrats complained about the $450 million annual operating cost, they conveniently ignored the billions their open-border policies cost taxpayers every year.
More importantly, the Florida facility is already working exactly as designed.
Migrants are choosing self-deportation rather than wait out their cases in the Everglades detention center.
President Trump perfectly captured the deterrent effect during a facility tour, joking that "we’re going to teach them (migrants) how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison."
Smart politics meets effective policy
Noem told CBS News this week that Alligator Alcatraz will serve as a model for ICE facilities in Louisiana, Arizona, and Nebraska.⁴
"Most of them are interested," Noem explained, noting that Trump-supporting states have "facilities that may be empty or underutilized."
This is leadership in action.
Instead of wringing her hands about "comprehensive immigration reform" like previous administrations, Noem is using existing resources to solve the problem right now.
The Angola plan involves reopening "Camp J," a high-security section that was closed in 2018 but can be rapidly restored to operational status.
Noem’s team includes 28-year-old ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan, who previously served in Landry’s cabinet, and senior advisor Corey Lewandowski, who worked on Landry’s gubernatorial campaign.
These political and personal connections ensure Louisiana will provide whatever support Noem needs to make this facility operational fast.
Critics miss the point entirely
Predictably, the usual suspects are attacking Noem for being too tough on illegal aliens.
One anonymous critic told the Daily Mail that "mass deportation will go down as one of the biggest failure scams in U.S. history."
This kind of short-sighted thinking completely misses what Noem is accomplishing.
The goal isn’t to house millions of illegal aliens in luxury accommodations indefinitely.
The goal is to create conditions that encourage self-deportation while processing removal cases as quickly as possible.
Every migrant who chooses to leave voluntarily is one less person clogging up the immigration courts and one less burden on American taxpayers.
The perfect deterrent strategy
Noem’s Louisiana facility represents everything that works about Trump’s approach to border security – decisive action, strategic use of existing resources, and clear consequences for illegal entry.
While Democrats spent four years talking about "root causes" and "comprehensive reform," millions more illegal aliens poured across the border.
Noem is delivering real results in real time.
The Angola prison backdrop sends an unmistakable message that America isn’t running a charity operation for the world’s economic migrants.
Whether or not detainees actually participate in rodeo events is irrelevant – the optics alone serve the administration’s deterrence strategy perfectly.
Sometimes the most effective policy is the one that makes Democrats lose their minds while solving problems they refused to address.
Kristi Noem continues to prove she’s exactly the right leader for this job.
¹ Shawn Cohen, "ICE Barbie Kristi Noem plots sequel to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’… set at America’s ‘bloodiest’ prison," Daily Mail, August 5, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
